According to the study, blacks were nearly eight times as likely to be arrested for pot in 2010, the last year for which numbers are available. In Ramsey County, blacks were 9.1 times more likely to be arrested.

The findings show that while there were pronounced racial disparities in marijuana arrests 10 years ago, they have grown significantly worse...

In Minnesota, the counties with the largest racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests were Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota. Statewide, police officers made 7,494 arrests for marijuana possession in 2010, and marijuana possession rates accounted for 42.8 percent of all drug arrests in 2010. From 2001-2010, overall marijuana possession arrest rates fell -0.5% and the racial disparities among such arrests increased 231%.

Despite the fact that a majority of Americans now support marijuana legalization, Minnesota spent as much as 69 million dollars enforcing marijuana laws in 2010. Nationally, states spent a combined $3.61 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010 alone.

Nationally, the study found that blacks are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite comparable usage rates with whites. In 2010, there was a marijuana arrest every 30 seconds in America.

"The War on Marijuana has disproportionately been a war on people of color," Ezekiel Edwards, Director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the ACLU and one of the primary authors of the report, said in a release. "State and local governments have aggressively enforced marijuana laws selectively against black people and communities, needlessly ensnaring hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system at tremendous human and financial cost."

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I think it just boils down to what people feel they have the right to do freely and young blacks are definitely being pushed more toward tobacco use instead of marijuana use. Marijuana is probably found in larger amounts among whites not that they are the only ones smoking out of bongs. Why the hell should a cop have to tell me to smoke at home and still spy on me with a helicopter camera or whatever they choose when it is a natural plant. Legalize Marijuana, don't tell me what to do, I'll blaze it in your face.

Blacks in the Atlanta area smoke in their cars and public which attracts unwanted attention from law enforcement. Whites tend to smoke indoors out of the view of the public. Evidence of this is the use of blunts to smoke for blacks and bongs and pipes for whites. One method is good for mobile smoking the other is better for in the house.

This will be the next big battle in our country. The people want Marijuana to be legal. It would lower crime, taxes, and drug abuse. Minnesota should be one of the first states to legalize, we would get a boost from tourism and supplying other states where pot is still illegal.

cusing on "marijuana arrests in Minnesota," try researching racial disparities in nationwide incarceration rates. What you'll find is a nationwide war on the poor and on minorities, of which the battle over marijuana is simply one of m

This is true both nationwide and here in Minnesota. The 'War on Drugs' is really just a war on the poor, within which economic class minorities are overrepresented due to our history of economic oppression of minorities.
Rather than focusing on "marijuana arrests in Minnesota," try researching racial disparities in nationwide incarceration rates. What you'll find is a nationwide war on the poor and on minorities, of which the battle over marijuana is simply one of many battles.
Add to this war the for-profit private prison industry, and you have an industry which harvests people and produces felons for profit.

t's unclear, however, whether Governor Dayton would sign. When asked about medical pot last winter, Dayton said,"I don't think we need another drug operating in our society.
News flash Dayton....weed has been operating in society since the dawn of man.

What a waste of manpower. Here's how we restore equality here...stop arresting people for it.
Other countries have decriminalized drugs and the use/abuse of drugs in those countries actually went down. The war on drugs is a waste of our resources.

"calling attention to themselves" you are a minority and we can easily stop you because profiling isn't illegal here in Minnersnowta - wrong place wrong time? Nahhhhhh it's all about segregating the welfare dependents from rich white folk and slowly but surely incarcerating them to satisfy quotas for private prisons - the bigots in Minnesota support this repression because it satisfies their bigot clear channel listening pea brains. "Derrr dem blacks are welfare queens, fucking lazy ass pieces of shit" - when all the while Washington is looting the pensions and savings of the middle class.......comments like yours ARE ridiculous.

@Bob Alberti And exactly who is "oppressing" the economic opportunities for minorities? Have you been down Lake St. or Central Ave. lately? 90% of these businesses are minority owned. And they built their businesses the old fashioned American way: hard work, risk, and generally busting their assess off. The difference? All of these businesses are owned by Latinos, Middle Easterners, Somalis, and Asians. If these people can obtain economic opportunity (as minorities), why cant the African Americans? I'll tell you why. It is because of people like you (white guilt liberals) who have brainwashed the African American community into believing that they can't get a "piece of the pie" because of "Whitey".

@digitalprotocol That's what I mean, its the next natural progression in our society. The war on drugs has failed. Adults have the right to smoke a harmless plant. People's lives are being ruined because small minded fools won't change their minds.

You sir are a moron, what facts did I even present other than responding to your inaccurate post about who I choose to view when I watch television (which is almost never unless CSPAN or PBS Bill Moyers)? I gave an opinion on "rich white folk", so sorry to spread such lies about tax bases moving out of town. I could debate you for hours but in the end you'll just revert to some cliched clear channel parrotted bullshit that will most likely sound something like this "your brainwashed liberal mind" blah blah blah, same old story with fellas like you, so happy your generation will slowly die and hopefully we can change the course of this country. Perhaps we should consider organ harvesting of baby boomers, because quite honestly we cannot afford to pay for all you once you get on medicare - maybe we could balance the budget this way? By the way I'm a Social Libertarian...also do me a favorite look up the definition of LIBERAL, it will contrast to what your boy beck and limbaugh shove down your bigotted throat daily.

@marevitals Typical liberal response. Insults with no facts to back up your claim. Yep, it's all the "rich white folks" fault that blacks are 800 times more likely to commit violent crimes than white people, that the "rich white folk"" force welfare dependents to have countless babies that they can't afford to take care of in the first place, that the police are bribed by the "rich white folk" to profile black people and arrest them for smoking weed (btw, you don't go to prison for getting caught with a little bit of weed, so there goes your private prison argument), and well, just basically, yeah.....it's all the "rich white folks" fault.

You are a perfect example of why the Liberal thought process is a mental disorder.

But I actually admire the Liberal politicians who brainwash people like you into this way of thinking. Because it is far easier to convince the sheeple that when you make bad decisions in life, it is much easier to blame someone else than to take personal responsibility. "Vote for me, and I will send you a Government check and it will all feel better!".

kennyX the gift that keeps on giving......Al Sharpton is a MSNBC BOT and Jesse Jackson is a self aggrandizing "leader".....quite typical of you Kennyx, below the bar on intelligence when you revert to Mainstream Media beltway hacks, goes to show how much cable news has rotted your walnut sized brain. Enjoy your life of misery kennyX! We all envy you!